In America, cars are not merely transportation; they are also aesthetic works of art and symbols of freedom, adventure and individuality. As a nation with many more cars than licensed drivers, we Americans love our cars. America's love affair with cars may be based on the size of our country, the independence of our people, our desire for mobility, or perhaps on our love of freedom. These characteristics, which set our country apart from others, have long made the motor vehicle and the open road central fixtures in our lives and our imaginations.
Many Americans make a statement with the car they choose to drive. Many of us are passionate about our cars. Texans love their pickup trucks and SUVs, and Vermonters love their Subarus. When certain cars drive down the street, everyone stops and turns their head. Car designers devote much energy to creating exciting, aesthetically pleasing body styles. One designer has observed that it costs no more to manufacture a car with a beautiful design. Car designers work very hard to develop three dimensional body lines and curves that are striking and pleasing to the eye. Body lines can also strengthen the structure of a car body, increasing safety and reducing weight and cost. Such beautiful car designs have captivated consumers for decades and helped fuel a major consumer industry.
Since most cars are not merely works of art but are also transportation subject to obstacles, traffic and driver error, they can be subjected to accidental damage. Many of us have had the unpleasant experience of returning to our parked car to find that a careless motorist backed into our car or opened their car door in a way that caused body damage. Anyone who has ever accidentally backed into a pole or other obstruction or has been involved in a minor accident knows how disheartening it can be to subject a beautiful and finely crafted automobile to damage. Where before there was mirror-shiny clear coat, sleek lines and curves, there now is an unsightly scratch or dent.
Generally speaking, there is a well-defined process for making most kinds of mechanical repairs to motor vehicles, the list of replacement parts and supplies can be defined in advance, and most repair jobs of that particular type are similar. Often, standard charges may apply. As an example, the mechanic time for removing the engine cylinder head on a particular model of vehicle and replacing it with a reconditioned cylinder head can often be accurately estimated in advance. Similarly, reconditioning worn brake rotors and replacing brake pads is a standard operation, and it is easy for a repair shop to estimate how much time would be involved and the cost of replacement parts.
It is much more challenging to accurately estimate the cost and amount of time it will take to repair body damage to a motor vehicle and to then properly execute on such repair direction. The position, size, shape and severity of each dent on a car's body is unique. Any repair needs to be both structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing. For example, it is important when looking down the length of the vehicle that body lines are unbroken and undeformed. The smallest deformation on a body line can be easily noticed. While a range of standard techniques can be applied to repair dents and other body damage, due to the aesthetic considerations involved, authorizing repair of and properly repairing body damage is a craft that can be art as well as science.
One might think that the cost and amount of effort involved in pulling or hammering out or otherwise repairing a dent would merely depend on the size of the dent. However, it turns out that dents in some places on the vehicle are easier to pull out or otherwise repair than dents in other places. See e.g., FIG. 1 which shows a conventional example vehicle quarter panel 10. The quarter panel 10, as is well known, may be composed of steel, aluminum, fiberglass, plastic or other conventional material. It is cut out and stamped in a three-dimensional shape that allows it to fit easily and properly on a motor vehicle body to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance as well as to protect the vehicle, tire and driver. The quarter panel 10 in this example includes a variety of relatively flat surfaces such as 12 and 14. In addition, quarter panel 10 may include curved surfaces 16 as well as various body lines such as a belt line 24 and additional lines or creases 26, 28, 30. These lines or creases affect the appearance, proportions and stance of the car and add to the strength of the panel. In particular, body lines, creases and bends in the metal of such a panel can add structural strength to the panel, allowing thinner metal to be used and thereby decreasing manufacturing cost, weight and environmental load while increasing fuel economy.
Still additionally, the example quarter panel 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes so-called “work hardened” areas 18, 20, 22 that comprise bent or worked metal. For example, complex shaped portions 18, 20, 22 are typically created by cold working or stamping the metal, which can, as is well known, lead to work hardening. Work hardening, also known as strain hardening or cold working, is the strengthening of a metal by plastic deformation. Auto body parts made of metal such as steel and aluminum when worked to create bend, contoured and/or curved aesthetically-pleasing surfaces such as 18, 20, 22, may be work hardened, strengthening the metal in the places where the metal was worked. Such strengthening by cold working or cold forming adds structural strength to the panel and can produce aesthetically-pleasing 3D surfaces that are stronger than unworked metal but which may become brittle and resistant to further plastic deformation. Damage to such work hardened areas can cause cracking, resulting in loss of integrity of the panel (e.g., cracking, holes, etc.) and can complicate any repair process. Thus, work hardened areas are usually more difficult to repair than flat areas. It can be appreciated from the FIG. 1 example quarter panel that the same point impact administered to different parts of the quarter panel may result in very different damage scenarios requiring different repair solutions that may be more or less time intensive and risky to the integrity of the structure.
Perhaps because of these uncertainties, producing estimates for body damage repair can be challenging. The cost of the same repair can vary radically depending on who you talk to. Three body shops may give three very different cost estimates for repairing the same dent. Insurance adjusters and fleet operators, on the other hand, need to be able to accurately and objectively estimate how much time it will take and how much it will cost to repair particular dents at particular positions on particular cars. It would also be highly desirable for computer-assisted technology to automatically recommend a particular method of repair (e.g., paintless dent repair).
The first step in assessing and estimating a repair is usually to perform a visual and other inspection. In the past, repair inspections were often performed manually using preprinted forms. An inspector would work from a form or check list on a clipboard as he or she visually inspected the item. Defects would be noted on the form. Sometimes, such forms would include schematic illustrations (e.g., line drawings) of the item being inspected so the inspector could note location and type of damage. Such forms could be mailed or transmitted electronically by facsimile or email. Damage assessments could be made by comparing information noted on the form with standard damage assessment information. In the case of motor vehicles, for example, the inspector or other person could consult a standard source to determine the fair market value of the vehicle based on the condition of the vehicle, the options installed and other factors. Unfortunately, because every dent is unique, it is rarely possible to obtain completely accurate dent repair times and costs merely by referencing a book or an historical database.
Yet, an important capability for any motor vehicle or other item assessor is to be able to accurately estimate the cost of repair and amount of time it will take to repair. As anyone who has ever taken a car to a repair shop knows well, being presented with a repair bill that is much higher than what the inspector or technician estimated at the beginning of the process is an unwelcomed surprise. Consumers are also unhappy when the repair is not done on time. On the other side of the coin, it is important for repair facilities to be properly compensated for their time and effort and be given enough time to complete the job. One cannot expect a good job if the body shop or other repair facility is forced to work too fast and/or at bargain rates. Body shops thus have a strong interest in providing accurate cost estimates. Estimating too high can cause the consumer to go elsewhere. Estimating too low can mean the price may not be enough cover the cost of repairs and the shop could lose money on the job. Inaccurately estimating how much time it will take or what will be involved in making a repair can leave everyone dissatisfied.
In most body shops, a well-trained estimator makes an appraisal of the vehicle damage and determines what must be done to repair the vehicle. Generally, this person must be well versed in how cars and trucks are made and repaired, and be good with numbers, computers and communicating with people. Computers are often used to streamline estimating and parts identification and ordering. See e.g., Duffy, Auto Body Repair Technology (4th Ed. 2003). Nevertheless, accurately estimating the amount of labor involved in making a particular repair has in the past relied heavily on the experience and expertise of the human estimator.
The problem is compounded by the variety of different techniques including paintless dent removal that have been developed to repair dents and other body damage. Some techniques may be right for some dents but not others. Some jobs require parts to be removed while other types of damage can be repaired in place. While an experienced body shop can often provide a good cost and labor estimate, inspectors who have never worked in a body shop may have difficulty accurately estimating what it will take to repair particular dent damage. Yet, having to get a separate estimate from one or more body shops or other estimators may take too much time or otherwise be inconvenient, especially in fleet or auction environments where time and efficiency are important. Additionally, it is useful to employ objective rather than subjective standards for assessing damage and recommending necessary repair procedures, costs and work time.
Some in the past including the assignee have proposed to use computers and computer systems to gather automobile inspection information and assess damage. See for example US 20070293997. Various systems and techniques have been developed. However, further improvements are possible and desirable. In particular, it has been found to be a challenge in the past to apply objective standards to what some treat as a subjective, highly experiential process for estimating what it will take to repair depression type damage to items including but not limited to body portions of motor vehicles.
One example non-limiting technology uses programming and data based in part on a significant amount of time and effort analyzing case studies in order to isolate and distill an optimal set of criteria. Such automatic computer-assisted technology can prompt an inspector in a structured manner through a user interface to input such criteria (e.g., by presenting a series of questions with structured possible answers for user selection) to enable a data processing system to automatically, objectively estimate the time and cost involved in repairing dents and other depression damage and the like. The system automatically takes into account that while size (length and width) of the dent are important, there are other objectively observable factors (e.g., number of work hardened areas, number of panel edges, number of body lines in dent, dent depth, and other adjustments) that together can be used to automatically enable a very accurate assessment and calculation of what should be done and how much time it will take for a skilled body repair technician to repair a particular dent.
Exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations provide a data processing system including non-transitory memory storing an integrated software suite and/or operative as a standalone module or application that provides or assists with vehicle inspection or other damage assessment. One exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation includes an inspection application that runs on for example a desktop, laptop, or pen-tablet PC's; a centralized server application that handles data synchronization between the database and the inspection PC's; additional systems to handle reporting and data transfer; and a web front end to allow clients to view vehicle inspection results on the Internet.
Example Seller Grade
Additional example technology enhances the capture of a vehicle's overall condition by improving the current damage values, and adding a new seller grade. The Seller grade can be leveraged at an auction or other live sales environment for simultaneously or simulcast display, and the interface can be robust enough to be used by for quick inspections inside the auction gate.
In one example embodiment, Seller grade may provide the ability to add additional damage information in order to calculate a grade for the vehicle. Based upon the damage information entered by the dealer, a Seller Grade can be provided. The Seller Grade can be rounded to half numbers for example. The example non-limiting system can provide a vehicle grade, and utilize the grading algorithm in a manner that can be used by other industry vendors and clients. One example non-limiting feature provides an external facing Webservice that allows the passing of predetermined information that calculates and returns a vehicle grade.